different between zestless vs restless

English

Etymology

zest +? -less

Adjective

zestless (comparative more zestless, superlative most zestless)

1. Lacking zest; passionless, unenthusiastic.
   • 1792, Robert Sadler, Wanley Penson, or The Melancholy Man, London: C. & G. Kearsley, Volume 3, p. 252,^[1]

     There are moments, indeed, in which I could be pleased to repay even a zestless joke with a smile, and, to feed the cheerfulness of a companion, rummage my own recollection for a mirthful incident; but, alas! ’tis not so now—My soul is too much absorbed in its own gloomy ruminations, to be drawn forth by its accustomed urbanity […]

   • 1865, Charles Heavysege, Jephthah’s Daughter, Montreal: Dawson Brothers, IV, (unpaginated),^[2]

     […] So he passes

     To second childhood; but, as quickening gases,

     Being fled, leave zestless a once cheering draught,

     We grow not merry though the Dotard laughed.

   • 1941, James Hilton, Random Harvest, Boston: Little, Brown & Co., Part Four, p. 249,^[3]

     As he descended the stairs he felt calmer, readier to do battle with the forces arrayed against him; and that made him feel a little warm towards the weak healthy boy who never did battle at all, but just drank and debauched himself in a bored, zestless way.

   • c. 1956, Martin Luther King Jr., sermon delivered at the time of the Montgomery bus boycott, cited in Dream: The Words and Inspiration of Martin Luther King, Jr., Boulder, CO: Blue Mountain Press, p. 81,^[4]

     Courageous men never lose the zest for living even though their life situation is zestless; cowardly men, overwhelmed by the uncertainties of life, lose the will to live.

Derived terms

• zestlessly
• zestlessness

English

Etymology

From Middle English restles, restelees, from Old English restl?as (“restless; disturbed”), equivalent to rest +? -less.

Pronunciation

• enPR: r?st?l?s, IPA^(key): /???stl?s/
• (weak vowel merger) IPA^(key): /???stl?s/
• Hyphenation: rest?less

Adjective

restless (comparative more restless, superlative most restless)

1. Not allowing or affording rest.

   The night before his wedding was a restless one.

2. Without rest; unable to be still or quiet; uneasy; continually moving.

   He was a restless child.

   She sat, restless and nervous, and tried to concentrate.

3. Not satisfied to be at rest or in peace; averse to repose; eager for change; discontented.

   A restless ambition.

4. Deprived of rest or sleep.

   They remained restless, sitting by the window the entire night.

Synonyms

• antsy

Derived terms

• restless legs syndrome
• restlessly
• restlessness
• the natives are restless

Translations

References

• restless in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• restless in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Further reading

• restless on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Tesslers, tressels